Primaries and Caucuses/Update Transcript
Transcript An animation shows Tim dressed in a suit. He is standing behind a podium on a stage. Patriotic balloons and confetti fall down around him. Thousands of cheering people are waving signs that say "TIM FOR PRESIDENT." He raises his arms in victory and speaks in a deeper voice. TIM: And so, my fellow Americans, I humbly accept your nomination for President of the United States of America! The crowd roars. TIM: Thank you! Thank you! An animation shows Tim on the stage of an empty school auditorium. His eyes are closed. TIM: Thank you… thank you… An animation shows Moby approaching. MOBY: Beep! Beep! Tim’s eyes open. Moby hands him a letter. TIM: Wha—?! Oh. Um, thank you. Tim reads from the typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, I'm trying to keep up with the primaries in the news, but it's super-confusing. Can you explain the rules? From, Andre. TIM: Funny you should ask...You probably have an idea about how elections work: Voters pick from two or more candidates, the people running for office. An animation shows a general election ballot. The ballot shows three candidates with a checkbox next to each name. TIM: So, where do those candidates come from? Most represent a political party: A group of people organized around shared political goals. An animation shows a different party symbol appear next to each candidate. The symbols are labeled Democratic, Republican, and Green. TIM: Parties select their candidates by holding primaries and caucuses. They're kinda like… the election before the election. So voters not only get a choice about who wins the race— They get to choose who'll be running in the first place. In presidential campaigns, primaries are held from January to June. An animation zooms in on the Republican Party symbol. Text reads: "6 months earlier…" The animation shows a Republican Primary Ballot with four choices. A voter makes a choice. TIM: Then in the late summer, each party holds a nominating convention. That's where each party officially gives the seal of approval to whoever won the primaries. That person becomes the nominee: the party's choice for President. An animation shows a nominating convention with the Republican nominee behind the podium. A large crowd cheers as the candidate speaks. TIM: The parties' nominees then compete in the general election in November. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Presidential primaries aren't just about picking nominees. Each party uses the process to refine their platform: the set of beliefs it stands for. Candidates from the same party usually agree on the big stuff. An animation shows the three political party symbols in a chart. Below each symbol are icons that show specific beliefs associated with that party. TIM: But each has their own specific issues they want to highlight. And competing visions for where they'd like to lead the country. An animation shows a candidate speaking at a podium. A speech bubble shows that she is talking about the core Democratic party beliefs, along with some that are just her own. TIM: Through debates and speeches, they make their case to the public. An animation shows the same Democratic candidate in a debate with other candidates. TIM: And refine their message based on how they're performing at the polls. An animation shows people voting. TIM: Traveling around state by state also helps the candidates get to know voters. An animation shows a candidate campaigning in Raleigh, NC. She has conversations with some people, shakes hands with others. TIM: So, by the time of the convention, the party is united behind one person, and a single set of ideas. An animation shows the candidate speaking at the nominating convention to a large crowd after winning the nominee. MOBY: Beep? TIM: To become the nominee, a candidate has to win a majority of the delegates. Those are party workers who cast the official votes for the nominee at the convention. So in a party with, say, 5,000 delegates, you'd need 2,501 to get the nomination. An animation shows the delegate section of the audience. Each delegate is represented with a small circle. TIM: And that's the whole purpose of the primary process: To award delegates to the candidates who get the most votes. An animation shows a map of the United States. Small circles, representing delegates, cover the map. TIM: Each state sends a certain number of delegates to the party convention. It's based on population: The bigger the state, the more delegates they get. That's why primaries are held state by state. In each one, candidates are competing for those delegates. An animation shows California with its 550 delegates, Ohio with its 160 delegates, and Rhode Island with its 35 delegates. TIM: If you're following along in the news, you'll see them keeping score this way. Candidates will be compared based on how many delegates they've won…And how close they are to the magic number that'll clinch the nomination. An animation shows a television news anchor reporting on the Democratic Primary. Each candidate has the number of delegates listed beside them. On the screen, it says "Target: 2,051." MOBY: Beep? TIM: A primary works pretty much the same way as any election. Voters go to a polling place and pick their favorite candidate from a ballot of contenders. Then the party awards delegates based on its own rules. Some use proportional representation: so, if you win half the votes in the state, you'll get half of its delegates. An animation shows a pie graph representing the number of delegates each candidate gets based on a state's vote. TIM: Others have a winner-take-all system: Whoever wins the most votes gets all the state's delegates. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Right, some states hold caucuses instead of—or in addition to—primaries. A caucus is a public meeting of voters who live in the same small area. People discuss and debate which candidate they'll support. In Republican caucuses, there are speeches followed by a vote by secret ballot. An animation shows a candidate giving a speech in a school gymnasium. TIM: Democratic caucuses are a little more… involved. Voters try to persuade each other to support their preferred candidate. Over and over again, they vote with their feet, standing in groups by candidate. It can take a while, and everyone has to stay for the whole process. An animation shows a group of people in a different gymnasium. There are three easels, each one with a poster of a different candidate on it. Groups of people are gathered around each candidate. As people talk to each other, the groupings change. TIM: Some say caucuses are undemocratic, because not everyone has the time to spend all night arguing. But supporters say they're pure, in the spirit of democracy as it began way back in Ancient Greece: Neighbors debating the issues, face to face, as a community. An animation shows a community debate in Ancient Greece. Men are in togas, some men are standing on a platform speaking, and others are in a crowd listening. MOBY: Beep? TIM:The first event of the whole season is the Iowa caucuses, usually held in January. Those are followed by the first primary, in New Hampshire. Because they're first, those two contests tend to have a lot of influence. They get a ton of media attention, and lots of visits from hopeful candidates. An animation shows Iowa state as a person and New Hampshire state as a person. They both wear large foam fingers that say "#1". Cameras flash and a crowd of reporters gathers around them. TIM: A surprise win can vault an unknown to frontrunner status… While an embarrassing loss can tank a promising candidate. An animation shows two newspaper covers: in one, a candidate "crushes it in Iowa." The other newspaper shows a candidate's photo and says "doomsday." TIM: Another big milestone is Super Tuesday, when a bunch of states hold primaries on the same day. An animation shows a news anchor reporting on Super Tuesday. A map is shown behind her with several different states highlighted. TIM: This often clinches the nomination for one candidate, as they pick up a huge lead. As the rest fall too far behind to catch up, they usually drop out. So, by the convention, one candidate usually has the nomination locked down. An animation shows the news program with the words "Democratic Primary" at the top of the screen. The candidate on the top has 1,872 delegates. The other 3 candidates have under 1,000. Gradually, the other candidates drop out of the race. TIM: The televised event is a chance for the nominee to make their pitch to the nation as a whole. It's also a moment to relax and savor their victory. Cuz the next day, they have to head back on the campaign trail! It's pretty much wall-to-wall speeches and debates until the general election in November. An animation shows the winning candidate speaking at the national convention as balloons fall behind her. The candidates that lost stand behind her, applauding. MOBY: Beep! TIM: Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a daydream to get back to. Tim grins and closes his eyes, and the animation shows him back in the suit again. He is in the Oval Office, playing a video game. TIM: It's good to be the President. Category:BrainPOP Transcripts Category:BrainPOP Social Studies Transcripts